Tuesday, February 19, 2008

I finished my Noro Riverbed socks! Aren't they neat? I had a lot of fun with this one even though the leg seemed to take forever because it's taller than I normally do. I was shooting for complete consumption but my count on the niddy noddy must've been off. Good excuse to order a yarn meter which I've been wanting anyhow.

And... I'm doing the finishing on Rogue tonight. I steamed out the pieces on my day off yesterday while there was no one to just fling it to one side as it dried and ruin my blocking. YAY! I'm all excited to wear it for Friday knitting.

Since I've finished two projects and I had much success teaching my brioche class Saturday. (Hi Ann! Hi Kate!), I had a small(ish) falling down at Bloomin' Yarns on Saturday. I picked up patterns and kits for Tulip and Rocketry. I also picked up some Opal in a Bethel Park style colorway to do socks for the boys, black yarn to work out the Faux Fairisle Hoodie, and the Tulip for Women pattern. I was tempted to start buying yarn for that but controlled myself.... somewhat. Miss Carly was there as well and I helped her start grafting her toe on her Steeler sock.

But before I start on Faux Fairisle, I'm going to finish Lenore. You remember... October's RSC sock from last year? I started on them before I was gifted with the Noro from Julia which screamed for attention. So I'm determined to make progress on them before I start digging in on Elder Celting's Faux Fairisle.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

So why are these boys all rosy? Because they're warming up from their winter wonderland activities. We all got a snow day today as both school and daycare were called due to the weather. And boy was I glad. The Celtic Consort called on his way to work to say if I could take the day off, I should as the roads were pretty crappy. Over 500 school closings and delays, a child's dream. So after I dug out some boots for Elder Celting, the boys and Ginger went out into the snow. There was snowman construction which quickly developed into a snowball fight. This was quickly followed by lots of sledding. The back yard has two hills which make for a great ride. I had to call in the cold wet Celtings before they became Celt-cicles. :) Everything into the dryer and hot chocolate into bellies.

So what was I doing besides standing at the kitchen window taking pictures? Well, I'm working on Rogue. As you can see, I'm almost done with the first sleeve and hope to get past the main cabling of the second sleeve this evening. The goal is to be able to wear it for the weekend. Although, I have to see how the sleeve will lay with the body. I may have to frog the sleeve cap to add some length but we'll see. You'll have to excuse the color on the pictures. In order to get the cable detail, I sacrificed the color accuracy. Oh and I used PumpkinMama's grafting instructions for the hood. Not bad...

After Rogue, the next project is Elder Celting's Faux Fairisle Hoodie. I can't wait to start on that one.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Sorry, I've been distracted lately. I'm trying to type up all sorts of knitting stuff lately. I'm working on documenting the Thumbody Special sweater, start writing out the Indecisive Socks, and typing up instructions for a class I'm teaching over at Bloomin' Yarns. Brioche! BICOLOR Brioche!

I don't know exactly why I love this stitch but I do. It's so squishy and yummy. It's also reversible. It looks kind of like ribbing but it's more dimensional than that. I first got started with it with the Helmet Hat in Interweave. I made one for my friend's daughter and I loved it.

So this weekend I went off to Bloomin' to get some supplies to do example swatches. I ended up picking some Gems in linen gray and teal. All I can say is I now love this yarn. It's superwash, has a ton of colors, and it has a great hand. So here are my swatches:

I totally love this yarn and I'm picturing a Wallaby in the gray with some teal accents. But even beyond that, I'm working on a hat idea I have too. If you look at these pictures you can see the furrows and ridges that make up the stitch. It's easier in the two color version. In those the teal is the ridge and the the grey is the furrow. All this is, is a slip stitch pattern. Toss in a couple yarn overs and some knit togethers and you have this fun pattern. It's perfect for baby blankets, socks, hats, scarves, and even sweaters.

Free Patterns

Knit With Us!

Hey are you in the South Hills of Pittsburgh? If so, stop by and knit with us @ Borders in Norman Centre II near South Hills Village. We're downstairs near the fireplace every other Friday night from about 7pm. (January 21st, February 4th, February 18th, March 4th, and March 18th.